Toilet ventilator and air sterilizer and purifier



March 14, 1961 NQFSINGER 2,974,323

TOILET VENTILATOR AND AIR STERILIZER AND PURIFIER Filed Sept. so, 1957. s Sheets-Sheet 1 we I4 I u; \1 ,s 4 45 J o II I "1% 25/ K g IN VEN TOR.

far L. Nafisvn er March 1961 E. 1.. NOFSINGER 2,974,323

TOILET VENTILATOR AND AIR STERILIZER AND PURIFIER Filed Sept. 30, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ll LL,

IN VEN TOR.

16 l 1 may ATTORNEY United States Patent TOILET VENTILATOR AN D AIR STERILIZER AND PURIFIER 'Earl L. Nofsinger, 715 N. C St., Wellington, Kans.

Filed Sept. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 687,207

1 Claim. (Cl. 4213) This invention relates to an improvement in devices for purifying, sterilizing and deodorizing air taken from water closet bowls.

It is a well known fact that in toilet rooms, particularly in the small type of toilet rooms such as found in residences, hotels, apartments and the like, obnoxious odors emanate from the water closet while it is being used.

In view of this fact, I have provided the device above mentioned which is designed to draw the air from the toilet or water closet bowl and discharge it into the room and in this process the device will also sterilize and deodorize the air taken from the water closet bowl.

A further object of the device is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that is electrically and automatically brought into operation through movement of the toilet seat when ones weight is imposed on the toilet seat.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that is highly efficient, one that is safe for use on any toilet, one that is inert pensive as well as one that is neat in appearance.

A still further object is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that can be built as an independent unit and can be installed as an accessory on any new or old installation. These and other objects of the invention will be more fully explained as this description progresses.

Now referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar numerals of reference designate the same parts throughout the several figures of the drawings- Fig. 1 is a side view of a water closet or toilet fixture to which my invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view through the rear or hinged portion of the toilet seat.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the case containing the purifying and deodorizing elements of the device, the top wall of the case being removed for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View through the case mentioned in the description of Fig. 3, the view being taken along the lines IVIV in Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 4 also designates the direction of the flow of air through the device.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the device, the view being as seen from the line VV in Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the device, parts of which are broken away for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram of the electrical system and parts employed in the device.

Fig. 8 is an end View of the ventilator housing, case or box, both ends of the ventilator housing being alike. In the drawings is shown any standard water closet 10 having the usual seat element 11 that is hingeably mounted on a hinge structure 12 that supports the rear 2,974,323 Patented Mar. 14, 1961 of the seat element 11 in a position spaced above the water closet 10 in the usual manner.

The device includes a box like element or case 13 comprising side and end walls and having a top closure wall 14, all of which are made as one integral unit. The device is further provided with a base plate 15 that is rigidly attached to the bottom edges of the box 13 by means of screws 15a that are slidably passed through holes in the bottom 15 and are threaded into the side and end walls of the box 13.

The front wall of the box 13' has a forwardly and downwardly directed lip like element 16 that is designed to fit between the hinge support legs 17 and 18 and between the top of the water closet 10 and the hinge pin 19 for the support of the toilet seat 11. The outer ends of the box 13 in which is contained the ventilating compartments B and C which overlap and extend beyond the base portion 10, of the toilet so as to leave the openings 22 and 22a open for ventilating purposes, as shown in Fig. 6.

Beneath the lip 16 and through the wall of the boX like element 13, of which the lip 16 is a part, is a long narrow opening or slot 20, which continues as an air intake passage beneath and as a feed to the fan 26. The opposite end walls of the box like portion 13 have openings 21 and 21a that serve as air discharge openings for the device, also the bottom base plate 15 has a series of openings 22 and 22a, one series in each end thereof as a further air discharge for the device. The base plate 15 also has a pair of upwardly projecting divider or baffle plates 23 and 23a that are positioned, one beside each of the discharge openings 22 and 22a and are long enough to fit snugly between opposite walls of the box like element 13 and are only high enough to reach part way to the cover plate 14 of the box like element 13. When the box like element 13 is positioned on the base plate 15, this arrangement divides the interior defined by the box like elements 13 and 14 and the base plate 15 into three compartments A, B and C, and leaving an air passage over the baffle plates 23 and 23a and connecting between the compartments A and B, and A and C.

In the compartment A is a plurality, preferably four, of germicidal, deodorizing and ozone developing electric tubes or lights, 24, 24a, 24b and 240 whose characteristics are to destroy odors in, and freshen air contacting the tubes when they are energized by an electric current.

There are many of these tubes already patented and designed to perform the above mentioned processes, and no claim is herein made to tubes further than the fact that they are used in this device to properly achieve the purpose of the device. These tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 240 may be all of one particular kind or type as above mentioned, or they may be mixed to perform the several services for which the tubes may be designed.

These tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 24c are preferably positioned in a vertical position and held in suitable sockets therefore that are positioned on the base plate 15 and in the compartment A and preferably in somewhat of a staggered position so that the air intake opening and passage 20 will contact each of the tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 240 for the purifying and deodorizing effect of the air that is to be achieved.

Also in the compartment A is a transformer T employed in lighting the lights 24, 24a, 24b and 240 as indicated in the wiring diagram in Fig. 7. This transformer is also already manufactured and is on the market for sale, therefore no claim. is made to the trans former further than the fact that it is also being used as a part of the device and to furnish the proper electrical current for operating the tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 240.

Also in the compartment A is an electric motor 25 having a fan 26 thereon that is rotat'ably driven by the motor 25 and the blades of the fan 26, when revolving will draw air from the bowl of the water closet through the housing intake opening and passage into the compartment A where a slight air pressure is raised to force the air into contact with and into the field of effectiveness of the tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 24c, whereupon the air is purified and deodorized and then forced from the compartment A through the passages over the baffle plates 23 and 23a into the end compartments B and C and thence through the discharge openings 2122 and 21a--22a and into the space outside the device.

As shown by the wiring diagram in Fig. 7, the tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 240 are wired in parallel and the motor 25 is operated on a branch circuit taken from the feed circuit as is clearly shown in Fig. 7, so that the tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 24c and the running of the motor 25 operate simultaneously. The tube and motor circuit are controlled by a single switch 27 which is in the electric feed circuit 28-29 which is preferably brought into the device through an armoured or flexible cable 30 and the circuit wires 28-29 are connected with any suitable standard plug device 31 that may be plugged into any convenient electrical service outlet to feed electrical current to the device for the operation thereof.

The electric switch 27 and the operating means therefor is as follows. One of the toilet seat hinge support legs 17 has a vertically disposed slot 32 therein through which one end of the hinge pin 19 passes and is movable up and down therein. The hinge leg 17 has a longitudinal bore 33 therein in which is longitudinally and slidably positioned an electric switch operating pin 34, the upper end of which engages the underside of the hinge pin 19 for raising purposes thereof. The operating pin 34 has a helical comprmsion spring 35 therearound, which is also in the slot 32. The upper end of the compression spring 35 rests against a stop pin 36 that is smaller in diameter than the operating pin 34 and passes therethrough with the ends of the stop pin 36 projecting laterally from the operating pin 34 to form a bearing element against which the upper end of the compression spring 35 may engage for purposes of raising the operating pin 34 and the end of the hinge pin 19 which it engages. The lower end of the compression spring 35 rests on the shoulder 37 at the bottom of the slot 32. The lower end of the operating pin 34 slidably passes through a smaller diameter guide bore 38 and rests on a ball 39 that is movable in an enlarged bore 40 that is positioned somewhat diagonally to the axis of the bores 33 and 38 so that as the ball 39 is pressed downwardly by the lower end of the operating pin 34, the ball 39 will move longitudinally in its respective bore 40 and away from the longitudinal axis of the first two said bores 33 and 38. The ball 39 also rests against a spring leaf 41 on which is an electrical contact point 42 that is adapted to engage a second contact point 43 as an electrical switch that is partially carried on a support 44. At this point of the foregoing described switch, the feed circuit wire is broken and one end thereof is secured to the leaf spring 41 and the other end thereof is secured to the contact point 43 so that as the ball 39 is moved in its bore 40 it will press the outer end of the leaf spring 41 to a position where its respective contact point 42 will engage the second contact point 43 to complete the electric circuit to operate the device.

The foregoing described switch device is contained in a small housing element 45 which is securely attached to the hinge support leg element by means of a support element 46, one end of which is rigidly attached, preferably welded, to the housing 45 and the other end of which is positioned under the hinge support leg 17 and 4 is rigidly held in place by pressure of the hinge support leg 17 when the nut 47 is tightened on the attachment bolt.

The device is operated by the weight of a person sitting on the toilet seat 11, whereupon the outer end of the hinge pin 19 forces the operating pin 34 downwardly against the pressure of the compression spring 35, whereupon the electric circuit is completed as above described and therefore the electric motor 25 and tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 240 are energized and brought into action, whereupon odor bearing air is drawn from the bowl of the water closet into the compartment A by action of the motor driven fan 25-26 and is purified and deodorized by the action of the tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 24c and then discharged through the discharge openings 21 and 22 and 21a and 22a of the compartments B and C as previously described.

When the weight of a person sitting on the toilet seat 11 is removed therefrom the helical spring 35 will elevate or raise the operating pin 34 to raise the end of the hinge pin 19 resting thereon and simultaneously release the pressure on the ball 39, whereupon the pressure of the leaf spring 41 will move the ball 39 to follow the upward movement of the operating pin 34, whereupon the contact points 42 and 43 will separate and disengage each other at which time the electric circuit is broken and the motor 25 will cease to operate and the tubes 24, 24a, 24b and 240 will be out of operation until such time as they are again put in and out of operation the same as above described.

While the device as shown and described is probably the preferred form of the device, it is to be understood that such modifications of the device may be employed as lie within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit and intention of the invention.

Now having fully shown and described my invention, what I claim is:

A ventilating and deodorizing device of the kind described; said device having a housing element, said housing element having partition walls therein dividing the housing into first, second and third compartments and passage means at the top of said walls for admitting the passage of air from the said second compartment into the first and third compartments; said second compartment having an air intake at the bottom thereof; said air intake comprising a nozzle element outwardly extending therefrom and being thin enough to pass under hinge portions of a toilet seat and receive air from within the toilet bowl; said first and third compartments having openings therein for discharging air therefrom; said second compartment having a plurality of ozonizing electrical tubes therein; an electrical motor and combination suction and blower; said motor and suction and blower element being located within the second said compartment and being adapted to draw air in through said nozzle and dispense the air outwardly and against said ozonizing electrical tubes therein and into, through and out of the said first and third compartments; an electrical circuit for the operation of said ozonizing tubes and motor and switch means for making and breaking said circuit; said electric switch means being operable from vertical movements of a part of the toilet seat hinge, said vertical movement being effected by weight imposed on the said toilet seat, said operating means for the electric switch being embodied in a leg support element of the said toilet seat hinge, said toilet seat hinge having a hinge pin, one end of said hinge pin being movable vertically in a slot in the upper end of the hinge supporting leg therefor, the last said hinge supporting leg having a vertical and longitudinal bore therein and pin means longitudinally movable in said bore, one end of said pin being against the said pin and spring means in said bore for raising the said pin in the bore and the end of the hinge pin resting thereon, said hinge support leg having a laterally and downwardly sloping 5 6 bore connecting between the lower end of the first said of the ball means to operate said electrical movement bore and to the exterior of the said hinge support leg, of the ball means to operate said electrical switch means. ball means movable in the said laterally extending bore; an electric switch structure being carried at the outer References Cited in the file of this patent end of said laterally extending bore and being operable 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS to make and break the electric circuit for operating the 4 device by movements of the said ball means, the lower 2,001,592 Teetor May 1935 end of said pin in the said vertical bore being in engage- 2,001,593 Teetol' May 1935 ment with the said ball means for imparting movement 2,227,920 Baithel 1 

